Short sale Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae backed mortgages will be expedited with a 30-day lender decision.

Posted on by
Short sales can be beneficial for the buyer and the seller. The buyer purchases a property at a good price and the property owner can sell a home without being forced into foreclosure.


The downside, which frustrates everyone involved in the sale, is the long wait–sometimes months– for the financial institution to approve the sale.


Now that’s changed. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have established clear timelines for financial servers who work with government-backed loans. Servers must respond to a buyer offer within 30 days. The same timeline is applied for a distressed homeowner who requests short sale consideration. The new rule goes into effect June 15.


If more than 30 days are needed, servicers must provide the borrower and buyer with weekly status updates and come to a decision no later than 60 days from the date the seller’s Borrower Response Package or an offer from a buyer was received.


In the event a servicer makes a counteroffer, the borrower is expected to respond within five business days. The servicer must then respond within 10 business days of receiving the borrower’s response.


We are glad that finally we can expect a short sale decision within a reasonable time. Being able to short sell a house allows the seller focus on building a new life without the cloud of constant stress, while the buyer gets a good deal and helps the real estate market move along.

YOUR PLACE TO CALL HOME: The American Dream must be open to all

Posted on by

The instructor caught my attention when he described being threatened, early in his real estate career, for showing a home to an African-American family.

The threat was from an anonymous person who called the real estate office a few hours after the showing. While the threat was just that — a threat — and nothing adverse happened to the Realtor or the couple who bought the home, the instructor pointed to the incident, which happened in the St. Louis area in the late 1970s, as an example of the need for fair housing regulations.

I walked out of the class thinking to myself, “That happened before I was born; we have made so much progress.”

This was a few months ago, but I thought of this story when the news broke last month about the tragic shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. While it will be months, if ever, before we learn all the details of that awful evening, all Americans share in the pain and suffering of Trayvon’s family.

While we have made much progress as a nation during my lifetime, this awful incident and subsequent demonstrations have made it clear we still have a long way to go before the American Dream is truly open to all. When respected African-American political and community leaders are quoted in the news talking about the discrimination they suffer in today’s world, we know our journey as a nation is not complete.

Since the days of our founding fathers, a central part of the American Dream has been the dream of home ownership. Realtors are proud of our destiny to be the Keepers of the American Dream of Homeownership. We vigorously promote and defend the basic right of all Americans to live in any home in any neighborhood that they can afford. We know the dream will never be truly open to any of us until all Americans can pursue their own dreams without fear of discrimination or hatred.

April is National Fair Housing Month when we celebrate the day that President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the federal fair housing legislation 45 years ago. Realtors are proud to join with our fellow Americans to celebrate the passing of this historic legislation.

The original federal legislation protected all Americans from housing discrimination based upon their race, religion, national origin, color or sex. In 1987, Congress added protection against housing discrimination based on familial status or handicapped status. State and local governments can add to these federally protected classes. Missouri has added ancestry to the list. The only local government in our area to add categories is the city of St. Louis, which has added protection from discrimination based on marital status, age, source of income or sexual orientation.

While tremendous progress has been made since the passage of the fair housing laws, much work still needs to be done. The good news is that blatant, open discrimination is not tolerated or condoned by most Americans. The bad news is that discrimination still exists in our society in much more subtle ways. We all have a tendency to judge people we meet based on the attitudes we have formed from our experiences and background. Together, we can rise above our human frailties; this is vital to the future of our nation and communities.

If you are selling your home, the only thing that can matter to you is the terms and conditions of an offer on your home. Is the price offered acceptable to you? Are the other terms of the offer acceptable? Does the buyers’ timetable work for your family? Will the buyers be able to obtain the financing they need to complete the purchase? Whether they are young or old, married or single, have kids or no kids or what color their skin is are things you cannot legally consider. Likewise, whether you think they will be happy in your home or fit into the neighborhood cannot be part of your decision to accept or reject their offer.

If you are buying a home, remember that you are free to purchase any home in any area that you can afford. Where you want to live is your decision. It is against the law for your Realtor, lender or anyone else to try to influence that decision. Because your Realtor cannot and should not decide for you, you need to tell her what types of homes you want to consider and in what neighborhoods you want to look. Also, don’t ask your Realtor about the quality of the schools, crime in the area or “what kind of people” live in the area. Under federal law, they cannot answer these questions.

Realtors vigorously champion and defend the dream of home ownership. We are committed to the principles of fair housing and will not tolerate violations of those principles from any of our members or from the buyers and sellers we work with. In addition to our legal obligation, our Realtor Code of Ethics prohibits discrimination in all aspects of our business. In 2010, the code was amended to go beyond the requirements of federal law when discrimination against sexual orientation was added.

As we celebrate fair housing and the American Dream of Homeownership this month, we must all rededicate ourselves to ending all forms of discrimination in our nation. While much progress has been made in my lifetime, my hope is that our children and grandchildren will only know stories of discrimination from their history books.

Call your St. Charles County Realtor today.

From the SCCAR President Cort Schneider

 

Cooler months get buyers busy. Should you lock in that mortgage rate or wait until they go even lower?

Posted on by
Traditionally April, May, June and July are the best selling months for real estate. Buyers and sellers want to get settled in their new home before school starts, learn about their neighborhood and meet a few people on the block.


Certainly, we live in non-traditional times now and the real estate market has seen tremendous changes during the last four years. What factors are in play for us this spring?


Weather Cooler months and a sense of renewal are still high on buyers’ list. We’ve been fortunate that our spring has been a long one, despite our worries about what summer will be like.


Housing activity has been up this year, starting 2012 on a more positive note. Buying activity usually goes down during extremely hot and cold temperatures and our mild winter was a plus. More sellers see the opportunity for a sale and buyers are encouraged by affordable living.


Location We’re looking at micro markets now, especially in the Midwest. We’re in a good place. Pending home sales in the Midwest are up according to the National Association of REALTORS, and we are one of two regions that saw positive competed sales. We also have affordable housing prices, many entertainment, cultural and sports opportunities, plus excellent academic options, all attractive to people moving in to our area. We need to keep these advantages in mind when we look at our market.


Financing Interest rates are still low, an average of 4.25 percent for a 30-year-fixed rate and 3.42 percent for a 15-year fixed rate, but lending is still a tight situation. The best case scenario for a buyer is 20 percent down and a high credit score in this market. But, loans are available–rather than go with a mega bank that may well still be dealing with bad loans during the past few years, look locally. We have some exemplary regional banks, credit unions and independent mortgage companies that didn’t buy into the sub-prime disaster.


Now comes the big question–you’re pre-approved and have begun your home search. Should you lock in a rate now, or wait some more for the rates go lower? We think a lock is the best way to go. The federal government, which has helped to keep mortgage rates down, can’t do that forever. Sooner or later, rates will begin to climb again. And, 4.25 percent really is a good rate!